My years at girlmom taught me so much, and has impacted my life in so many ways, I can't even begin to count them. .
I learned how to respond when someone says, "What you said was fucked up!"
I learned to listen.
I learned how to apologize.
I learned that just because I procreate with someone, am related to someone, or have some kind of relationship with someone does not mean they get to stand in my way.
I learned to be radical and how to argue in effective ways.
I learned that good friends will *always* have your back. Even when you fuck up. Big time.
I learned what I wanted my community to look like, and how to make that happen.
I learned how to not back down.
I learned exactly what it meant to be unquestioningly pro-choice.
I grew up with girlmom and I can honestly say that I do not think that I would be the awesome human I am now without gm. Honestly, sometimes I try to talk about it with folks who were not on gm and they don't get it. For a long time, my best friends were people I had never met and there have been few times in my life that I felt as unconditionally supported.
What did you learn?
Agreed. I learned how to stand up for myself. I learned to look at the world in new ways. I learned that I was more capable, more intelligent, and stronger than I believed. I learned I could accomplish whatever I set my mind to and that there were no limits on my future. I learned to rely on my friends and ask for help when I needed to. I also learned to be honest with myself which I think is really important... sometimes that was forced, I didn't always want to see the truth but gm's made me! haha. I grew up with gm too, I had a baby, I was a teenager, and I still lived at home when I first found gm. That life is worlds away but I still remember what it felt like to be that girl. I'm grateful to those of you who helped shape me into who I am now!
I think I never really realized I was a teen mom until I joined Girl-Mom. Like, I knew that when I was pregnant, I was a teen and in high school, but it never hit home for some reason until I joined GM. ANd I realized that there were others and I didn't feel so alone. I also learned that I could leave my baby-daddy and that I wasn't alone. I remember after leaving him, I posted in the backroom about it and everyone was soooooooo fucking supportive and it was just super helpful. I leanred a lot about politics. I was involved with politics before GM, but it was super cool to see other young moms interested/involved in the same thing. I also learned a lot about community, as I used to trade childcare with some of the Minneapolis GM's and we'd have potlucks and get our kids together. I think I just, overall, learned that I wasn't alone and just because I was a young mom, it didn't mean I had to resign myself to whatever people said I "should" do.
I agree so much with all of this, I need to come back and re-learn some of it.
GM definitely helped me find my voice, community, support. I really learned about what kind of feminist I am. I found strength and courage. I learned how to stand up for myself and to speak out. I was as inspired then as I am now, by all our amazing mamas.